Congratulations on finishing your manuscript! That's very exciting. The TOC looks amazing. I can't wait to read it.

Absolutely! Moon is loosely based on the visual Latin alphabet, which is what makes it quicker to learn than braille. Although reports show that braille is easier to read tactilely once you know it, partly because the characters are much smaller and more consistent.

Yea when there are several hands or if the formatting changes significantly between pages or documents, then it's not going to work as well.

I also believe in methods serving the research as well as being a means to an end. Some folks will start analyzing their material as they transcribe it, so doing this manually actually saves time and provides a unique opportunity to work closely with the materials. Automation isn't always better.

Some people may also prefer to do it manually. Especially if they need an extremely accurate copy. It could be easier *for them* to copy manually rather than proofread OCR output for errors. Lots of reasons to do it manually instead! (Again, said as someone who IS training a model.)

That may be true for some projects, some languages, some scripts. But certainly not all. It's not at all applicable to the materials I work with, where there is no existing model anywhere close enough to be a useful starting point. I'm glad it works for you! It doesn't work for a lot of folks.

In the context of the comparison of training OCR and training LLMs/genAI... this means that you might as well just write the thing yourself (or hire another human to write it) rather than train a genAI model on work you own. Obviously you should also never train on stolen work either.

That sounds delicious. I've never thought of putting candied ginger in gingersnaps. I have a great gluten-free, dairy-free gingersnap recipe though, so now I must try this. (GF/DF are dietary requirements in my house.)

Also chronic pain (which could very well be included in chronic illness). I am baffled by the fact that the surgeon who literally went into my knee with cameras still doesn't know why I have chronic knee pain. Why don't we know more about pain?

I would like people to include alt text when they share abstracts (that way everyone can enjoy research). It is incredibly easy to add alt from a screenshot on your phone (and even easier on your desktop). People like me will also be more willing to reshare it.

If you want English braille, it would be ⠃⠕⠕⠅. The screenshot image shows the same word with ghost dots so you can better see the characters' positions in the braille cell.

Thanks! I'll message you about this.

One person has suggested that I don't actually want an overhead scanner, because they typically have fixed lights positioned to reduce shadows. They suggested a copy stand with a fixed digital camera and studio lights for more flexibility. Any thoughts/suggestions on that welcome as well!

Assume that cost is no object, but options at varying price points are appreciated. Also cannot be a flatbed scanner that requires the book to be pressed, but the books can lay flat when open (they don't need supports).